Germany – Activities

After Riverboat-Doctors-International's foundation on April 17, 2004 in Cologne, Germany, regulated activities commenced in Germany as well.
With the association being represented both in Gambia and Germany, it is crucial for its members to continuously stay in touch with members in both countries. Very often, this is not that easy because power cuts are common in Gambia and telephone lines are unreliable. Despite all these obstacles, our members again and again manage to be informed on all activities and thus are able to target their work accordingly.
The Association's office is registered in Cologne (Germany), the reason being that the second chairman and one of the auditors are based there. From Kempten, members throughout Germany are kept informed about news and projects, and above all, on successful activities. In addition, reports and pictures sent by the indefatigable Mrs. and Mr. Tautz in Gambia are distributed to all members.
First of all, the association was accredited by a notary and all relevant documents were submitted to the municipal court Kempten, Germany, for registration and to the fiscal authority Kempten in order to assess the association's charitable purpose and nonprofit character. Furthermore, we opened an account for the association at the Sparkasse Kempten, a local savings bank. This account also serves as donation account.
In the meantime, the association's homepage was created where all relevant news and developments are posted. Visitors to the homepage can find information on specific aid projects. The homepage is regularly updated by members in Germany. Visitors who are interested in becoming a member can find our membership application form on our website for download, or, in case somebody wishes to contact us directly, our contact data are listed as well. Mails are checked daily and answered as soon as possible. Specific requests are forwarded to the person in charge.
The entire mail addressed to the association is processed in Germany as well, and circular letters are sent to members.
All issues that cannot be dealt with in Gambia are collected and processed centrally in Germany, and as soon as possible redirected to the people or companies in charge. This goes, e.g., for letters to companies or institutions which we would like to contact as potential donors.
Endless hours of work were necessary in order to create a homepage, design stationary, write reports, or create forms – but our members did not tire of their tasks.
Furthermore, there are numerous physicians available to us in Germany who we can contact at any time to obtain medical advice and who are very committed to our association's cause.
Many challenges still lay ahead of us, but people's commitment and willingness to assist us let us hope for an optimistic future where we can achieve the association's objective: to provide aid and assistance in Africa.
We would be happy to further inform you on our activities in Germany.